This invention relates to a silver halide photographic material and more particularly it concerns with a silver halide photographic material having an antistatic layer. Furthermore, it relates to a novel antistatic composition and to protection of photographic materials such as photographic printing papers, photographic films, etc. from undesired effect of static electricity by applying said composition to said photographic materials.
Build-up of static electricity on the surface of photographic printing papers and films is a great problem in production or processing of photographic materials. For example, static electricity is generated in photographic printer, slitters and winder. Furthermore, static electricity is generated in unwinding of photographic printing papers or films or in contacting of photographic printing papers or films with a transport roller. When static electricity is built-up, it is discharged to cause often irregular fog patterns (static marks) after development.
Generally, this problem is important especially for high speed silver halide photographic emulsions. Moreover, static electricity causes attraction of dust to photographic materials to bring about undesired phenomena such as water repellent spots, desensitization, fogging, etc. It is known to provide antistatic layers in silver halide photographic materials to avoid said undesired effects caused by static electricity.
Generally, such an antistatic layer constitutes an electroconductive surface and is made of materials capable of releasing static electricity. Representative examples of such materials are surfactants (anionic, cationic and nonionic) and polymers (polyacrylic acid, carboxymethyl cellulose, polycarboxylates, polystyrenesulfonates, etc.). Furthermore, there are such antistatic layers as comprising metallic halides such as sodium chloride, potassium chloride, lithium chloride, copper iodide, tin chloride, etc. as an electroconductive material and water soluble polymers such as PVA as a binder.
However, most of the antistatic layers comprising these antistatic agents cannot be firmly adhered to a photographic support if the support has a hydrophobic surface. Furthermore, such layers cannot stand photographic processing (at 30.degree.-40.degree. C.) and sometimes bring about sludges in a processing solution. When photographic printing papers or films having these antistatic layers are left in the form of a roll or in piled sheets under high temperature and humidity conditions, the emulsion layer or the antistatic layer is peeled off from it's support due to blocking. Thickness of the antistatic layers must be increased to obtain curl balance with emulsion layers containing gelatin. Moreover, fogging, desensitization, unevenness in development, stain, etc. occur due to permeation of the antistatic agent into the surface of emulsions. Especially, high speed silver halide photographic materials have a great many of such problems. Furthermore, sometimes, acceptability for drafting materials is required depending on uses such as industrial recording materials, cards for books, publications, literatures, etc.